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University of Mississippi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theses/Dissertations

2014

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Noncovalent Interactions Involving Microsolvated Networks Of Trimethylamine N-Oxide, Kristina Andrea Cuellar Jan 2014

Noncovalent Interactions Involving Microsolvated Networks Of Trimethylamine N-Oxide, Kristina Andrea Cuellar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis research focuses on the effects of the formation of hydrogen-bonded networks with the important osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). Vibrational spectroscopy, in this case Raman spectroscopy, is used to interpret the effects of noncovalent interactions by solvation with select hydrogen bond donors such as water, methanol, ethanol and ethylene glycol in the form of slight changes in vibrational frequencies. Spectral shifts in the experimental Raman spectra of interacting molecules are compared to the results of electronic structure calculations on explicit hydrogen bonded molecular clusters. The similarities in the Raman spectra of microsolvated TMAO using a variety of hydrogen bond …

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#Democracy: The Internet And Support For Democracy In Central And Eastern Europe, Matthew Alan Placek Jan 2014

#Democracy: The Internet And Support For Democracy In Central And Eastern Europe, Matthew Alan Placek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 1989, the countries in central and eastern Europe have undergone a tremendous amount of societal and political change. While previous studies have noted the importance of citizen support for democracy in providing a base for regime stability in these new democracies, there is considerable debate in what influences these values. One possible mechanism of attitude change is mass media. Previous studies in political science have noted the importance of mass media in influencing citizen attitudes and behavior. Though this research has uncovered a plethora of effects that the media can have, the extant literature has mostly focused on this …

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A Behavioral Intervention For Child Obesity: Increasing Physical Activity On The Playground Via Reinforcement In A Preschool Classroom, Kevin Francis Karl Jan 2014

A Behavioral Intervention For Child Obesity: Increasing Physical Activity On The Playground Via Reinforcement In A Preschool Classroom, Kevin Francis Karl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child obesity rates have reached an all-time high in the United States with rates quadrupling since 1963 for children ages 2-5 (Fryar, Caroll, & Ogden, 2012). This has led to increased research directed toward understanding the causes of this proliferation. The literature shows that several key variables, including physical activity level, diet, and health education are related to childhood obesity (Epstein, 2005; Trost, et al., 2003). In the realm of physical activity level, many interventions have been proposed and conducted with varying degrees of success. Only few have attempted to impact the physical activity level of children in free play, …

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Financial Reporting Manipulation And The Role Of Religious Ownership: Evidence From Nonprofit Hospitals, Ryan Seay Jan 2014

Financial Reporting Manipulation And The Role Of Religious Ownership: Evidence From Nonprofit Hospitals, Ryan Seay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Empirical evidence (e.g. Eldenburg and Vines 2004; Leone and Van Horn 2005; Ballantine et al. 2007; Eldenburg et al. 2011) demonstrates that nonprofit hospital managers respond to competing institutional and regulatory pressures by engaging in various forms of financial reporting manipulation. While some recent research in accounting (e.g. Dyreng et al. 2012; McGuire et al. 2012) shows that religious social norms can deter this undesirable behavior, these studies focus on the private, for-profit sector and use a location-based measure of religiosity. This study extends this line of research by using a more direct measure of religious social norms, the ownership …

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Understanding Strawberry Plains Through Landscape Archaeology, Leeanne Wendt Jan 2014

Understanding Strawberry Plains Through Landscape Archaeology, Leeanne Wendt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strawberry Plains is a site that is located in Marshall County, Mississippi and is comprised of Woodland, Chickasaw, antebellum, and postbellum components. The focus of this thesis was placed on the postbellum time period. The information presented here is intended to give a comprehensive view into the lives of the sharecroppers that resided and worked on Strawberry Plains during the early to mid-twentieth century and also understand the economic relationship between them and the landowner. Also of importance to this project was the placement of the houses and their dispersed pattern across the landscape and comparing this pattern to other …

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Mobile Computing Device Adoption In Organizations: An Information-Processing Based View, Xiang Guo Jan 2014

Mobile Computing Device Adoption In Organizations: An Information-Processing Based View, Xiang Guo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mobile computing devices have gained popularity in organizations. Various companies, government agencies, and academic institutions have seen a dramatic increase in employees' adoption of personal mobile devices. Current research has not provided clear explanations about the motivations behind employees' mobile device adoption behavior and the factors affecting these behaviors. This paper proposes using a new perspective, an information-processing based view, to better understand this new trend. The newly developed measurement instrument, named as Information-Processing Support Index (IPSI), captures an employee's perceptions about the capabilities of mobile devices to support his/her work-related information-processing needs. An exploratory model using IPSI and other …

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Structural Analysis Of Bulky Thiolate-Protected Gold Nanomolecules, David Walton Crasto Jan 2014

Structural Analysis Of Bulky Thiolate-Protected Gold Nanomolecules, David Walton Crasto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Routine preparation of thiolate-protected gold nanomolecules involves, most commonly, straight-chain organic thiolate ligands for which the sulfhydryl `head' group is bound to a primary carbon atom. The primary connectivity of these sulfur atoms, such as for the case of n-hexanethiol and phenylethanethiol, allows for even packing, and the relative ease of formation of gold-thiolate oligomers about the surface monolayer in the formation of Au-SR bonds. Moreover, these straight-chain ligands routinely support the formation of an icosahedron-based series of core-size gold nanomolecules. Within this series of nanoparticles, Au25(SR)18 and Au38(SR)24 are among the most commonly studied core-sizes; Au25(SR)18 is situated upon …

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Impact Of Thread Scheduling On Modern Gpus, Orevaoghene Addoh Jan 2014

Impact Of Thread Scheduling On Modern Gpus, Orevaoghene Addoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) has become a more important component in high-performance computing systems as it accelerates data and compute intensive applications significantly with less cost and power. The GPU achieves high performance by executing massive number of threads in parallel in a SPMD (Single Program Multiple Data) fashion. Threads are grouped into workgroups by programmer and workgroups are then assigned to each compute core on the GPU by hardware. Once assigned, a workgroup is further subgrouped into wavefronts of the fixed number of threads by hardware when executed in a SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) fashion. In this …

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Relationship Of Self-Efficacy In Community College Students From Critical Need Areas With First Semester Academic Achievement, Elmira Ratliff Jan 2014

Relationship Of Self-Efficacy In Community College Students From Critical Need Areas With First Semester Academic Achievement, Elmira Ratliff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if a relationship existed between the self-efficacy levels of freshman year community college students from critical need areas and their first semester academic achievement during their freshman year. Additionally, this research determined the strength of the relationship between self-efficacy levels and first semester grade point average of students from critical need areas. The study was conducted using three community colleges in the state of Mississippi during the 2013-2014 academic school year. The sample included one hundred and fifty males and one hundred and fifty females with a permanent address and school …

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Optimized Image Compressed Sensing And Transmission Through Wireless Channels, Saheed Olanigan Jan 2014

Optimized Image Compressed Sensing And Transmission Through Wireless Channels, Saheed Olanigan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the robust behavior of quantized compressed sensing measurements during transmission through an additive white gaussian noise wireless channel. The poor rate-distortion performance that accompanies compressed sensing after applying quantization has led to several works in quantized compressed sensing. However, most of these works have less consideration of the effect of transmission channel on the resulting bit stream of the quantized compressed sensing measurements. For an additive white gaussian noise wireless channel model, the quantizer and bit energy signal-to-noise ratio determines the degree of the channel effect. This thesis explores the effect of quantization and channel noise during …

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Is This Freedom? Government Exploitation Of Contraband Laborers In Virginia, South Carolina, And Washington, D.C. During The American Civil War, Kristin Leigh Bouldin Jan 2014

Is This Freedom? Government Exploitation Of Contraband Laborers In Virginia, South Carolina, And Washington, D.C. During The American Civil War, Kristin Leigh Bouldin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis covers the exploitation of contraband laborers during the American Civil War in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, the South Carolina Sea Islands, and Washington, D.C. In addition, it analyzes the actions of Union military commanders charged with care of the contrabands, and the failure of the federal government to create a uniform policy outlining how military officials should treat the contrabands. The thesis covers abuses ranging from failure to pay wages to a lack of medical care to the construction of disease-ridden camps to the impressment of contrabands for labor or military enlistment. It argues that military …

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Sectionalism, Nationalism, And The Agrarian Revolt, 1877-1892, Benjamin Houston Turner Purvis Jan 2014

Sectionalism, Nationalism, And The Agrarian Revolt, 1877-1892, Benjamin Houston Turner Purvis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Farmers' Alliance led the largest coalition of late-nineteenth-century farmers' and urban reformers. The reform movement called for laws opposing speculation on agricultural prices, restricting the powers of business trusts, regulating railroad freight rates, and increasing the circulation of currency based on silver. Advocates also strongly opposed the proponents of sectionalism who emphasized differences and conflicts between the primary sections of the country, the North and the South. Differences between the North and South largely revolved around the issue of slavery and emerged shortly after the founding of the nation. Tension accelerated in the years following the Mexican-American War …

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The Characterization Of Graphs With Small Bicycle Spectrum, Bette Catherine Putnam Jan 2014

The Characterization Of Graphs With Small Bicycle Spectrum, Bette Catherine Putnam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Matroids designs are defined to be matroids in which the hyperplanes all have the same size. The dual of a matroid design is a matroid with all circuits of the same size, called a dual matroid design. The connected bicircular dual matroid designs have been characterized previously. In addition, these results have been extended to connected bicircular matroids with circuits of two sizes in the case that the associated graph is a subdivision of a 3-connected graph. In this dissertation, we will use a graph theoretic approach to discuss the characterizations of bicircular matroids with circuits of two and three …

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From Segregation To Integration: A Historical Study Of Music Education In The Colored School In Louisville, Mississippi Through 1970, Jeremy S. Thompson Jan 2014

From Segregation To Integration: A Historical Study Of Music Education In The Colored School In Louisville, Mississippi Through 1970, Jeremy S. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What was music like, if it existed, in black schools before integration, and what happened to black music educators after integration? To properly address this, the history of segregation, major court rulings and other noteworthy attempts at integration, must be mentioned. This study reveals the untold history of the music department of Louisville Colored School in Louisville, Mississippi. This study will open the door for further, in-depth dialogue on the subject of music education in black schools before integration. Five years before the 1970 integration of public schools in Louisville, MS, Louisville Colored School, sometimes referred to as Camile Street …

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Moderation And Mediation Of Headache-Related Disability: The Roles Of Self-Efficacy And Headache Diagnosis, Kelly Peck Jan 2014

Moderation And Mediation Of Headache-Related Disability: The Roles Of Self-Efficacy And Headache Diagnosis, Kelly Peck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Primary headache disorders such as migraine and tension-type headache are some of the most frequently-diagnosed health disorders in the world and can be extremely disabling. However, disability resulting from these disorders varies substantially across individuals. Although headache severity has been identified as the strongest predictor of headache-related disability, the relationship between the two variables is non-linear, suggesting that other mechanisms may be involved. Self-efficacy mediates relations between pain and impairment associated with other chronic pain conditions, but this relationship has not been evaluated in a sample of individuals with primary headache disorders. Therefore, the present study sought to examine whether …

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The Role Of Acceptance In Headache-Related Variables, Joshua D. Hamer Jan 2014

The Role Of Acceptance In Headache-Related Variables, Joshua D. Hamer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migraine is a neurologic disorder that causes impairment in many areas of functioning. Migraine sufferers frequently avoid environmental stimuli (triggers) they assume to be associated with migraine onset, which may inadvertently lead to an increase in the potency of some triggers and increase headache frequency over time. Headache patients who instead use acceptance strategies to limit their attempts to control or eliminate/avoid their pain may experience reduced distress and pain-related disability. Studies examining acceptance-based approaches in managing chronic pain conditions have shown favorable results of acceptance on pain intensity, reduced pain-related anxiety and avoidance, and less physical and psychological disability. …

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The Role Of Religion In The Relationship Between Loneliness And Health Behaviors, Lindsy Jean Magee Jan 2014

The Role Of Religion In The Relationship Between Loneliness And Health Behaviors, Lindsy Jean Magee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While research has demonstrated the relationship of religion to health risk and health promoting behaviors, it has not investigated the relationship between religious coping and health risk and health promoting behaviors. In addition, while the link between loneliness and certain health risk and health promoting behaviors has been established, little research has looked at the potential effect that religion has on the relationship between loneliness, health risk, and health promoting behaviors. As such, it was the purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between religious coping and health risk and health promoting behaviors and to investigate the role of …

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Toward A Conceptualization Of Emetophobia: Examining Intolerance Of Uncertainty As A Unique Predictor Of Symptoms, Mimi Zhao Jan 2014

Toward A Conceptualization Of Emetophobia: Examining Intolerance Of Uncertainty As A Unique Predictor Of Symptoms, Mimi Zhao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emetophobia, a poorly understood disorder, is a specific phobia characterized by an irrational and persistent fear of oneself vomiting or others vomiting. Though research on the disorder is sparse, previous investigations have reported interference in social, occupational, and health domains in the lives of individuals with emetophobia (Lipsitz et al., 2001; McFayden & Wyness, 1983; Veale & Lambrou, 2006). To this end, the current study examined whether individual differences in Anxiety Sensitivity (AS), Disgust Sensitivity (DS), and Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) are associated with symptoms of emetophobia, whether AS predicts symptoms of emetophobia above and beyond DS, IU, and expected …

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Identification Of A Treatment-Resistant, Ketamine-Sensitive Genetic Line In The Chick Anxiety-Depression Model, Stephen Walter White Jan 2014

Identification Of A Treatment-Resistant, Ketamine-Sensitive Genetic Line In The Chick Anxiety-Depression Model, Stephen Walter White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 60% of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients do not respond to FDA-approved antidepressants. Introducing effective pharmacotherapies for this treatment-resistant population is hindered by the lack of pre-clinical screening assays that accurately model the clinical features of TRD. The purpose of this research was to screen representatives of different classes FDA-approved antidepressants and one novel antidepressant in two genetic lines of domestic fowl chicks that have previously been identified as stress-vulnerable and stress-resilient in the chick anxiety depression model. Separate groups of socially raised Black Australorp (stress-vulnerable) and Production Red (stress-resilient) chicks were administered the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (0-20 mg/kg), …

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Increasing Self-Efficacy And Quality Lesson Planning Using Lesson-Study With Elementary Preservice Teachers, Elizabeth Ann Mitchell Jan 2014

Increasing Self-Efficacy And Quality Lesson Planning Using Lesson-Study With Elementary Preservice Teachers, Elizabeth Ann Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, quasi-experimental study examined if lesson-study could be a successful approach in improving lesson plan quality and increasing self-efficacy levels toward teaching science at the preservice elementary teacher level in North Mississippi. Lesson-Study can be defined as a cycle of instructional improvement in which small groups work together to design and teach a lesson, revising again as needed over the course of a semester. This study described the experiences of two sections of preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods course as they engaged in lesson-study at a comprehensive university in Northeast Mississippi. One section of the class served …

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The Discursive Commons: The Establishment, "Outside Agitators," And "Communist Subversives" In Gadsden's Depression-Era Political Environment, John Disque Agricola Jan 2014

The Discursive Commons: The Establishment, "Outside Agitators," And "Communist Subversives" In Gadsden's Depression-Era Political Environment, John Disque Agricola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses a turbulent and often violent political environment in Gadsden, Alabama during the Great Depression. Using a theoretical construct called the discursive commons my analysis suggests how very particular ideas such as the trope of the outside agitator, and the idea of the communist radical, were used by the establishment to incite violence against United Rubber Workers union organizers who came to Gadsden to enlist members in the 1930s and early 1940s. It is my contention that these discursive formations had affective power over the people who committed acts of violence against their own class interests. This thesis …

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Identification And Characterization Of Human Plasma Prekallikrein-Prolylcarboxypeptidase Interaction Sites, Jingjing Wang Jan 2014

Identification And Characterization Of Human Plasma Prekallikrein-Prolylcarboxypeptidase Interaction Sites, Jingjing Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prolylcarboxypeptidase isoform1 (PRCP1, also known as angiotensinase C, PCP, PRCP, PrCP) is a widely distributed serine protease found throughout the human body. PRCP1 removes the C-terminal amino acid which is next to a proline residue of a peptide. Through this activity, PRCP1 is postulated to play distinct biological roles including the regulation of vascular homeostasis, the induction of inflammation and the adjustment of metabolism. Compelling evidence indicates that human PRCP1 activates plasma prekallikrein (PK) to kallikrein on endothelial cells. However, the mechanism of this activation is yet unknown. The formation of kallikrein leads to the generation of proinflammatory factors and …

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Cranberry Metabolites With Urinary Anti-Adhesion Activity, Christina M. Coleman Jan 2014

Cranberry Metabolites With Urinary Anti-Adhesion Activity, Christina M. Coleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fruit of the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, Ericaceae) is a comfood and a top selling dietary supplement in the U.S. Cranberry juice is traditionally used for the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs), many of which are caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. Human urine produced after cranberry juice consumption can prevent E. coli adhesion, but the urinary metabolites responsible for this activity are currently not known. High-molecular weight components of cranberry juice, specifically proanthocyanidin oligomers (PACs), are currently believed to be responsible for the ability of cranberry juice to prevent UTIs. Cranberry PACs can prevent the adherence of …

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Characterizing Non-Covalent Interactions And Peptide Bond Formation With Electronic Structure Theory, Eric Van Dornshuld Jan 2014

Characterizing Non-Covalent Interactions And Peptide Bond Formation With Electronic Structure Theory, Eric Van Dornshuld

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development and application of quantum mechanics has exploded in the past century. The rules of classical mechanics were found to be completely insufficient when applied to a universe that operates on the scale of atomic and subatomic particles. The advancement of quantum theory and computer technology has driven quantum mechanical analyses toward routine in the chemist's laboratory. Chapter 1 briefly outlines some comfailures of classical mechanics from a historical standpoint. Chapter 2 provides a mathematical overview to quantum chemistry including a brief presentation of the analytic solutions to the schrã¶dinger equation for some model systems. Chapter 3 and chapter …

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Cross-Layer Capacity Optimization In Ofdma Systems: Wimax And Lte, Bimal Paudel Jan 2014

Cross-Layer Capacity Optimization In Ofdma Systems: Wimax And Lte, Bimal Paudel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Given the broad range of applications supported, high data rate required and low latency promised; dynamic radio resource management is becoming vital for newly emerging air interface technologies such as wireless interoperability for microwave access (Wimax) and long term evolution (lte) adopted by international standards. This thesis considers orthogonal frequency division multiple access (ofdma) system, which has been implemented in both Wimax and lte technologies as their air interface multiple access mechanism. A framework for optimized resource allocation with quality of service (qos) support that aims to balance between service provider's revenue and subscriber's satisfaction is proposed. A cross-layer optimization …

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Analysis And Design Of Low Profile Multiband Multifunctional Antenna Arrays, Walker F. Hunsicker Jan 2014

Analysis And Design Of Low Profile Multiband Multifunctional Antenna Arrays, Walker F. Hunsicker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Light-weight phased array antennas for aerospace and mobile applications require utilizing the same antenna aperture to provide multiple functions with dissimilar radiation pattern specifications (e.g., multiband operation for communications and tracking). Multi-functional antennas provide advantages over aggregate antenna clusters by reducing space requirements, and can aid in the optimal placement of all required apertures to provide adequate isolation between channels. Furthermore, the combination of antenna apertures into a comgeometry mitigates co-site installation issues by addressing interference within the integrated radiator design itself as opposed to the extensive analysis which is required to configure multiple radiators in close proximity. The combination …

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Dis Connect, Bradley Scott Luke Jan 2014

Dis Connect, Bradley Scott Luke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Can Student-Driven Changes Increase Salad Bar Usage In Schools?, Shannon Leeke Jan 2014

Can Student-Driven Changes Increase Salad Bar Usage In Schools?, Shannon Leeke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing student salad bar participation may increase students' consumption of fruits and vegetables while decreasing their risk of chronic disease. This study observed student perception, experience, and participation of the school salad bar in two northwest Mississippi high schools. The subjects were students' age 15-18 years old. One school served as the control variable and one served as the intervention variable. A three-week baseline of salad bar participation was collected before surveying students at the intervention school. Surveying student perception and experience of the salad bar provided data to implement changes to the salad bar. Student perception and experience was …

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Evaluation Of Wild Yam (Dioscorea Villosa) As A Demethylating Agent And Its Anti Metastatic Activity In Human Breast Cancer Cells, Pranapda Aumsuwan Jan 2014

Evaluation Of Wild Yam (Dioscorea Villosa) As A Demethylating Agent And Its Anti Metastatic Activity In Human Breast Cancer Cells, Pranapda Aumsuwan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Determining Physician And Patient Characteristics That Predict The Use Of Atypical Antipsychotics In Children With Mental Health Disorders, Sujith Ramachandran Jan 2014

Determining Physician And Patient Characteristics That Predict The Use Of Atypical Antipsychotics In Children With Mental Health Disorders, Sujith Ramachandran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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